For the first time ever, Atlanta audiences will have the opportunity to witness one of the biggest sensations in modern dance – the centerpiece duet from British choreographer Matthew Bourne’s Tony Award-winning Swan Lake. Bourne, who is widely praised as the UK’s most popular and successful choreographer, debuted the almost all-male Swan Lake in 1995 – eschewing tradition and turning the ballet world on its head. Bourne’s avant-garde interpretation of Swan Lake tells the timeless story of ill-fated, forbidden love with dynamic modern day flair. New York Times dance critic Gia Kourlas described the ballet as “a painterly exploration of desire told through dance.” For Atlanta’s premiere, the White Swan pas de deux will be performed by guest artists Domenico Luciano and Dominic Walsh of Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre (DWDT) in Houston. DWDT first performed the duet in 2009 and is the only company outside of Bourne’s own that has been permitted to perform the work.

Wedding Night Pas de Deux from Madame Butterfly by Stanton WelchMusic byGiacomo PucciniArrangement by John Lanchbery

Atlanta Ballet is thrilled to present the quixotic wedding night pas de deux from Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly. Named a “showstopper” by AJC, the pas de deux is the romantic climax of one of the world’s greatest tragic love stories. The Telegraph called the piece “sexy and stunningly challenging.”

Making its world debut last season with Atlanta Ballet, Prayer of Touch was a crowd favorite that left audiences breathless with anticipation. According to Creative Loafing, “Helen Pickett… gives outrageously dramatic and humorous life to Mendelssohn violin music in Prayer of Touch.” Throughout the work, the dancers “struggle between the desire to touch and the fear of being touched, like flipped magnets, in a dance of attraction and repulsion” (ArtsATL).

Requiem for a Rose by Annabelle Lopez OchoaMusic byFranz Schubert

Set to an achingly romantic and longing adagio by Schubert, Requiem for a Rose is passionate piece that blends contemporary staging with classical dance. Become mesmerized by the movements as the dancers are transformed into a garden of blossoming roses. Netherlands-based choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa presents a piece filled with “tender” moments that is “deftly and honestly crafted” (Dance View Times).

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is the first major performing arts facility built in metro Atlanta in four decades.

Location and Parking
The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is located in northwest Atlanta near the junction of I-75 and I-285, at the intersection of Cobb Galleria Parkway and Akers Mill Road. Self parking is available on site for a $6 fee, and valet parking is available for select performances for a $10 fee. You can also pay for paking in advance online - click here for more information. Please do not park in the Toys"R"Us lot on Akers Mill Rd. This is not approved parking for the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, so your car may be booted or towed if left there.

Emergency Phone Number
(770) 916-2911 is the 24-hour public safety number for the Cobb Energy Centre. Please leave your seat location with your babysitter or answering service so that the house manager may find you in case of an emergency.

Special Needs
The venue is ADA compliant. Designated seats in various locations are available for guests with disabilities and those needing special assistance. The venue is equipped with wheelchair accessible courtesy phones, elevators, plaza ramps, wheelchair accessible ticket windows, and wheelchair accessible drinking fountains. For more information, please call (770) 916-2800.

Looking to plan the perfect date night or Mother's Day celebration? Leave the details to us with our dinner and a show package in honor of our final performance of the season, Love Stories. For just $50 per person, enjoy a delicious fixed menu dinner at South City Kitchen Vinings and a price level 1 or 2 ticket to Atlanta Ballet's Love Stories, which features the romantic wedding night pas de deux from Stanton Welch's Madame Butterfly, Helen Pickett's Prayer of Touch, and Netherlands-based choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Requiem for a Rose. This package is available for the evening performance on Friday, May 10 or Saturday, May 11. Click here to book your dinner and a show package for Love Stories, while spaces are still available, with promo code Butterfly!

*Online only. Offer available for evening performances only: April 10 and April 11 with 5:00, 5:30, and 6:00 pm seatings. Available while supplies last. Limit of 2 tickets per household. Valid for price levels 1 and 2 only. Cannot be combined with other offers or applied to previously purchased tickets. 18% gratuity, dinner tax, and alcohol will be billed at restaurant.

Looking for love or just making some new friends? Join us for our next Single in the City event before our final production of the season, Love Stories! You and you friends can enjoy a fantastic night out with other locals at Cinco Mexican Cantina and later in the evening at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. The evening starts with a preshow gathering at Cinco Mexican Cantina (only a block away from Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre) at 6:30 pm. Your Single in the City package ticket gets you one complimentary cocktail* and light hors d'oeuvres and then entrance to the opening night performance of Love Stories at 8pm! Click here to get your Single in the City tickets with promo code Fall!

*One cocktail per person. Choose from Cinco's house margarita, an Absolut martini, or house wine.

NiteOUT at the Ballet
Saturday, May 11 | Doors open at 7pm

Come early and mingle before the 8pm performance of Love Stories, which includes the romantic wedding night pas de deux from Stanton Welch's Madame Butterfly, Helen Pickett's Prayer of Touch, and Netherlands-based choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Requiem for a Rose! You won't want to miss this dizzying night of passionate storytelling and exquisite dance! Sip on our delicious "Love Potion" specialty cocktail (a delicious combination of vodka, pink grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, a splash of gingerale, and a cherry garnish) in honor of the evening's performance, while our guest DJ sets the mood in the lobby before our final set of performances of the 12|13 season. Visit the marketing table in the lobby for a list of the exciting shows we have lined up for next year.Click here to get your tickets for NiteOUT on Saturday, May 11 with promo code OutLoud!

Community and Corporate Group Tickets

It only takes 10 people to benefit from Atlanta Ballet's Group Sales program. With our fast, friendly and convenient service, you can secure the best seats in the house in no time at all. For more information or to reserve your group's seats today, contact Jarrett Milton, Group Sales Manager, by one of the easy methods below.

Personal VIP service from our outstanding staff including presentation and marketing materials on the program of your choice. Assistance with restaurant and hotel reservations, transportation options, pre/post-show receptions and tours of the Cobb Energy Centre/Fox Theatre are also available at your request.

The demands on ballet dancers and choreographers today are exponentially greater than they were even a dancer-generation ago. It is exciting to watch the Atlanta Ballet artists embrace those challenges and emerge from the studio each year more confident and accomplished than they were the season before, evolving the capacity to undertake new and arduous roles by increasingly ingenious and exacting choreographers. This may be the close of the current season, but the company’s 2013-2014 season has been announced. Mark your calendars!

The four ballets, two of them company premieres, investigate love in all its iterations, from heart-pounding passion to fleeting connections to playful couplings and the slippery nature of romance. It’s a perfect way to end a season that has ignited another love: ours for Atlanta Ballet and its hard-working dancers as they continue to expand their unique talents and technique.

There’s no standard Petipa or Balanchine repertoire on this bill. All the works can be considered new — the oldest was first choreographed in 1995 — and their collective take on the theme of love is staunchly humanistic. Don’t expect royal courtship or girls falling in love with enchanted dolls; this is love as real people have experienced it.

Disappointing

by Lauren on May 17, 2013

Well, I didn't appreciate the "modern" take on some of these classic ballets. I was confused by the whole thing. Very disappointing. It is okay for women to look beautiful and feminine--not dressed in the same costumes as the male dancers! The performance was not at all what I expected. I'll choose more carefully next time!

petal, carmina burana,

by harriet cortell on May 17, 2013

Fabulous---we haven't been to ballet performance in a while and we are already looking forward to next year---business travels keeps me from subscribing---so individually we will choose performances.
Great dracula okay but PETALS, CARMINA BURANA amazing, LOVE STORIES EXCEPT FOR SWAN LAKE (totally distasteful---so glad it wasn't an atlantic ballet production---really not artistic at all and very let down) looking forward to choreographer of petals again and again

Out of my comfort zone—and that’s good!

by Susan Lee Hauser on May 16, 2013

I loved it, I sure did! So much variety, and everything painstakingly and achingly danced. I especially liked it when y'all pushed me out of my comfort zone to a place I didn't think I wanted to go. So lovely and so moving. Thanks, everyone, for all the hard work. It was a great evening!

Wedding Night

by Stephanie Swanson on May 16, 2013

My husband and I attended this performance for my birthday. Wedding Night was our favorite, what a wonderful story portrayed by 2 strong and beautiful dancers! While we found Requiem for a Rose enjoyably modern and entertaining, we did not care for the Swan Lake pas de deux- very distasteful!

Love Stories

by Suzan Jackovatz on May 15, 2013

As usual, the Atlanta Ballet had a fabulous performance! The Madame Butterfly performance was awesome.
I've been attending the ballet for years and for the first time, I was somewhat offended by the performance of White Swan. I have to say.... was it really necessary for the dancer's genitals to nudge the back of the other dancer's head?? This is more inappropriate than artistic to me.

Gorgeous performance

by Peter P Hetzler on May 15, 2013

My wife and I purchased the dinner and show tickets. Dinner at South City was wonderful and a nice start for the evening. We thoroughly enjoyed the performances, the dancers are so strong. Particularly enjoyed Madam Butterfly (wow). We did not enjoy White Swan, guess we are traditionalists.. White Swan is one of our favorite ballets, didn't like the change.

Wonderful Evening

by Anne on May 15, 2013

These performances were my favorites of the season. I loved the contemporary, yet classical choreography, and the power and grace of the dancers. The mix of programs made for an interesting and special evening.

Madame Butterfly

by Sharon Schachter on May 15, 2013

Wedding Night Pas De Deux from Madame Butterfly is the most gorgeous performance I have seen in a long time. I absolutely loved the technical difficulty and the chemistry between the dancers (Tara and Jonah). And, of course, the music is romantic and exquisite, complementing the visual artistry. I wanted to see it again as soon as it was over!

Leave a Review

Pre Show Video for LOVE STORIES

Atlanta Ballet presents LOVE STORIES 30 sec

Stanton Welch's "Madame Butterfly" pas de deux

Helen Pickett's "Prayer of Touch"

MATTHEW BOURNE (Choreographer, Swan Lake) is widely hailed as the UK’s most popular and successful choreographer/director. He is the creator of the world’s longest running ballet production, a five-time Olivier Award winner, and the only British director to have won the Tony Award for both Best Choreographer and Best Director of a Musical. Matthew started training to be a dancer at the comparatively late age of 22. He studied dance theatre and choreography at The Laban Centre, graduating in 1985 but spending a further year with the college’s performance company, Transitions. Matthew danced professionally for 14 years, creating many roles in his own work. In 1999, he gave his final performance playing The Private Secretary in the Broadway production of Swan Lake. Matthew Bourne was the artistic director of his first company, Adventures in Motion Pictures, from 1987 until 2002. During those 15 years AMP became the UK’s most innovative and popular dance/theatre company, creating an enormous new audience for dance with its groundbreaking work both at home and internationally. In 2002, Matthew launched hislatest company, New Adventures, with two highly successful productions. Play Without Words premiered as part of the National Theatre’s transformation season and went onto win Best Entertainment at that year’s Olivier Awards. It then embarked on a world tour and premiered in New York, Los Angeles, and Moscow in 2005. Matthew Bourne’s new production of Nutcracker! also premiered at Sadler’s Wells in 2002 and became an instant hit with audiences and critics, returning the following year for a second sell-out season. It became the first ballet to be screened by BBC1 in over 20 years and also embarked on a world tour. Other theatre and dance work includes As You Like It (RSC/John Caird), Children of Eden (West End/John Caird), A Midsummer Night’sDream (Aix en Provence/Robert Carsen), The Tempest (NYT), Show Boat (Malmo Stadsteater, Sweden), Peer Gynt (Barbican/Yukio Ninagawa), Watch With Mother (NYDC), Boutique and The Infernal Galop (Images of Dance), Watch Your Step (Irving Berlin Gala), French and Saunders Live in 2000 (UK tour), and Dearest Love (Ballet Boyz). To learn more about Matthew Bourne’s accomplishments, please visit new-adventures.net.

ANNABELLE LOPEZ OCHOA (Choreographer, Requiem for a Rose), half-Colombian, half-Belgian, completed her dance education at the Royal Ballet School of Flandersin Belgium. After a 12-year long professional dance career where she danced as a soloist for the Scapino Ballet, she decided in 2003 to focus her creative energies entirely on choreography. In that same year she was hailed “rising star of the Dutch dance scene” by NRC newspaper and, only 7 years later, the Temecula Performing Arts Examiner wrote, ”Ochoa is truly a masterful choreographer with an edge for what dance can and should be in this constantly changing industry.” Annabelle has so far created works for the Scapino Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Djazzex, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Gothenburg Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, BalletX, BJM-Danse Montreal, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Ballet National de Marseille, Saarbrucken Ballet, Jacoby & Pronk, Chemnitzer Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Whim W’Him, IncolBallet de Colombia, Finnish National Ballet, CND Madrid, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Washington Ballet, Ballet Nacional Dominicano, Ballet Austin, and Augsburg Ballet. Ms. Lopez Ochoa has won several choreography awards in 2002 at the Hannover’s Choreographers Competition and in 2003 the First Prize and Public’s Prize with Replay at the International Choreographer’s Competition of Bornem. In the fall of 2007, she was selected to participate with the prestigious New York Choreographic Institute. Her production, A Streetcar Named Desire, which she created with theater director Nancy Meckler for the Scottish Ballet, was awarded with Best Classical Choreography by the Circle of Critics of the National Dance Award UK and the South Bank Sky Arts Awards for Best New Production and was nominated for a 2012 Olivier Award.

HELEN PICKETT (Choreographer, Prayer of Touch), born in San Diego, danced with William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt for 11 years. In 2005, Helen received her first choreographic commission, Etesian, from Mikko Nissinen, director of Boston Ballet. She was awarded the Fellowship Initiative Grant by New York Choreographic Institute in 2006. In the same year and through 2008, Helen choreographed for Boston Ballet, Washington Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Louisville Ballet, and Ballet X. In 2007, Dance Magazine named Helen one of “25 to Watch.” From 2009 through 2011, Helen created new ballets for Royal Ballet of Flanders, Ballet West, Boston Ballet (two premieres), Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. In 2012 and 2013, her commissions include Atlanta Ballet, Dresden Ballet, Vienna State Opera, and Smuin Ballet. In 2009, Helen was one of the first choreographers to receive the Jerome Robbins Foundation’s New Essential Works Grant. As an actress and choreographer, she has collaborated with The Wooster Group and with installation video artists and filmmakers who include Eve Sussman, Toni Dove, and Laurie Simmons. In 2011, Helen earned a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Hollins University. 2012 marked the beginning of Helen’s choreographer in residence position with Atlanta Ballet! Please visit helenpickett.com for a full biography.

STANTON WELCH (Choreographer, Madame Butterfly), an acclaimed Australian choreographer, assumed the leadership of Houston Ballet, America’s fourth largest ballet company, as artistic director in July 2003. Since his arrival, Mr. Welch has transformed Houston Ballet by raising the level of classical technique, infusing the company with new energy, drive, and vision; introducing new works by distinguished choreographers to the repertoire; and attracting some of the world’s best coaches to Houston. He has created works for such prestigious international companies as Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Royal Danish Ballet. In 1986 he began his training at the late age of seventeen, quickly winning a scholarship to San Francisco Ballet School. In 1989, he was engaged as a dancer with The Australian Ballet, where he rose to the rank of leading soloist, performing such principal roles as Des Grieux in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon, Lensky in John Cranko’s Onegin, and many more. He has also worked with internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Jiří Kylían, Nacho Duato, and Maurice Béjart. In 1990, he received his first choreographic commission from the company, marking the beginning of a series of commissioned works over the next fourteen years and developing his diverse choreographic style. In 1995, Mr. Welch was named resident choreographer of The Australian Ballet. Mr. Welch has been extremely active internationally, receiving numerous commissions from the world’s leading companies. For Houston Ballet, he has choreographed fifteen works, including a spectacular new staging of Swan Lake (2006) and Rite of Spring (2013). He also has commissions from San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, BalletMet, Joffrey Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Moscow Dance Theatre, and Atlanta Ballet. Mr. Welch has also staged works for Colorado Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Texas Ballet Theater, The Royal Ballet School, Singapore Dance Theatre; Royal New Zealand Ballet, and Fugate/Bahiri Ballet NY.

For Atlanta’s premiere, the White Swan pas de deux will be performed by guest artists Domenico Luciano and Dominic Walsh of Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre (DWDT) in Houston. DWDT first performed the duet in 2009 and is the only company outside of Bourne’s own that has been permitted to perform the work.

DOMENICO LUCIANO (Guest Artist, Swan Lake), of Naples, Italy, joined Dominic Walsh Dance Theater in 2005. Having made his American debut with Tulsa Ballet in 2004, Mr. Luciano studied at the Teatro di San Carlo Ballet School in Naples and danced with various companies in Europe as a principal dancer, including Europadance in France, Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Germany, Teatro Comunale in Florence, Teatro Dell’Opera in Rome, and Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. His repertoire includes many classical principal leads such as Romeo, Paris, and Benvolio in both Sir Kenneth MacMillan and John Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet; Solor in La Bayadere, The Prince in The Nutcracker, and Albrecht in Giselle, all by Derek Dean; In the Night by Jerome Robbins; Onegin in John Cranko’s Onegin; and Don Jose in Roland Petit’s Carmen with the National Ballet of China. Mr. Luciano also excels in his contemporary repertoire, which includes George Balanchine’s La Valse; Nacho Duato’s Jardi Tancat and Without Words; Carole Armitage’s Orfeo ed Euridice; and Mauro Bigonzetti’s Mediterranea. Also with Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, he performed the American premiere of Bigonzetti’s Pression, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano’s Dicese, Jirí Kylián’s Double You and 27’52” (gala version), and Mats Ek’s Pas de Dans. In 2003, he received the Leonide Massine Award in Italy for Best Male Dancer of the Year, and, in October 2008, the Houston Press named him “Best Dancer.” Mr. Luciano was named one of 12 standout performers in 2009 by Pointe Magazine for his portrayal of the White Swan in the White Swan pas de deux from Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake. He also received the “Young Italian Talent Award” in Florence in 2010.

DOMINIC WALSH (Guest Artist, Swan Lake), a principal dancer with Houston Ballet for over a decade, has received national and international praise for his interpretations of both classical and contemporary roles. Walsh burst onto the choreographic scene when he won the prestigious Choo-San Goh Award in 1998, and he is now hailed as a leading choreographer who is pushing the boundaries of ballet into new realms. He won a second Choo- San Goh Award in 2007 and received a 2008 Princess Grace Award. Walsh was recently named a winner of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s 2010 National Choreographic Competition, and he was the Audience Choice and Judge’s Award winner in Ballet Austin’s 2010 New American Talent Choreographic Competition. Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, launched by Walsh in 2002, is also racking up accolades and honors and was named “Best Dance Company” by the Houston Press. Dominic Walsh Dance Theater has built a stellar reputation for taking the techniques and skills of classical ballet into more inventive territory. The company’s diverse repertoire features works by Walsh and such iconic choreographers as Mauro Bigonzetti, Jiří Kylián, Matthew Bourne, and Mats Ek, and its roster includes dancers of the highest caliber. In addition to producing a Houston season of performances and educational programs that enliven the senses, the company tours the U.S. and Europe. With its unique mix of innovation and collaboration, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater is one of this country’s leading contemporary ballet companies.

Love Stories Instagram Photo Contest
#ABLoveStories

Win 2 tickets to Atlanta Ballet’s Love Stories
&
$50 gift card to South City Kitchen Vinings &UPDATE: A $75 gift card from Petals A Florist and $100 in credits from Uber have just been added to the prize package!

Share a photo of you and your mom on Instagram and win the ultimate Mother’s Day package ($400 retail value) from Atlanta Ballet. We're ready to make it a Mother's Day weekend you and your mom won’t soon forget!

By sharing your photo with us, you become eligible to win two (2) tickets to our Love Stories program Mother’s Day weekend, a $75 gift card to Petals A Florist, $100 in credits for Uber (a mobile app that connects you to a car service) & a $50 gift card from Fifth Group Restaurants, including South City Kitchen Vinings near the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre!

It’s super easy to enter the contest and no purchase is necessary! Just follow these simple steps:1. Snap a photo of you and your mom.2. Upload the photo to Instagram with @AtlantaBallet and be sure to use the hashtag #ABLoveStories to officially enter our contest.3. Atlanta Ballet will randomly select a winner on Wednesday, May 8th and reach out to the lucky winner!

The winner can choose between the following performance date and times for Love Stories at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre: Friday, May 10 at 8pm; Saturday, May 11 at 2pm or 8pm; or Sunday, May 12 at 2pm. The gift card is valid at any Fifth Group Restaurants location, including South City Kitchen Midtown, South City Kitchen Vinings, La Tavola Trattoria, Ecco, The Original El Taco, Alma Cocina, and Lure. Please note that Mother’s Day Brunch and/or dinner at any participating restaurant may require a reservation in advance and seating is limited. Please visit the restaurants' respective websites for more details.

Click here for the official rules. Click on the logos below to learn about each of our prize package partners!

Choreographer Talk Back with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Friday, May 10 | immediately following the 8 pm performance of Love Stories

Choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is with us all the way from the Netherlands for the Atlanta premiere of her piece Requiem for a Rose, which is part of our Love Stories season finale. This is an opportunity to learn more about this "truly...masterful choreographer with an edge for what dance can and should be in this constantly changing industry” and her choreographic process (Temecula Performing Arts Examiner). The Choreographer Talk Back is included with an opening night ticket. Don't have tickets yet? Click here to get your seats for opening night!

Come early and enjoy our Love Potion specialty cocktail, while our guest DJ sets a fun party atmosphere in the lobby! Love Potion is a delicious combination of vodka, pink grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, a splash of gingerale, and a cherry garnish! There will also be a hip hop performance from the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education Pre-Professional Division with choreography by Centre instructor Anwar Nasir before the show.

Come early and enjoy our "Love Potion" specialty cocktail and a hip hop performance from the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education Pre-Professional Division with choreography by Centre instructor Anwar Nasir before the show! "Love Potion" is a delicious combination of vodka, pink grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, a splash of gingerale, and a cherry garnish!

Celebrate Mother's Day with us! We're making it a day to remember with our guest DJ setting a fun atmosphere in the lobby while you spend time with mom and treat her to our "Love Potion" specialty cocktail (a delicious combination of vodka, pink grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, a splash of gingerale, and a cherry garnish) or glass of wine. Make sure you get a good spot near the grand staircase, so you can enjoy a hip hop performance from the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education Pre-Professional Division with choreography by Centre instructor Anwar Nasir before the show!